Dielectric and optical properties of glasses and glass-ceramics synthesized from agro-food wastes

Abstract

In this study, glasses and glass-ceramics are prepared using agro-food wastes instead of conventional mineral oxides like SiO2, CaO, and Na2O, etc. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique is used to check the amorphous and crystalline nature of the as-quenched and heat-treated samples, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) are used to evaluate the chemical composition of the as-quenched samples. Thermal properties of the glasses such as thermal stability and characteristic temperature of glasses are evaluated using differential gravimetric analyser (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Optical band gap (Eg) and dielectric constant of the samples are found ~3.26–3.57 eV and 10–32 range at room temperature (RT), respectively. Most of the properties of the agro-food wastes derived glasses are comparable and better than glasses synthesized using minerals oxides. These glasses and glass-ceramics may find applications in the microelectronic, glass sealants in the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs).